There are two main types of cards available at present, magnetic stripe cards and IC cards in which is embedded an integrated circuit chip which can be configured to provide a variety of functions. IC cards are commonly referred to as smart cards and this is the term which will be used herewith in the specification and claims.
These cards can be used, in association with an appropriate read/writer, in a vast array of different environments. For example, user identification cards are used in association with a personal identification number (PIN) to provide access to an ATM. Also financial service cards such as credit or debit cards are used to contain information on a user's bank or building society accounts so that transactions can be attributed to those accounts merely by reading the card.
Most cards are substantially rectangular being approximately 85 mm long by 54 mm wide. Magnetic stripe cards incorporate a magnetic stripe which runs the length of the card adjacent one side. Data is stored in the magnetic stripe by causing variations in the magnetism of the material which forms the stripe, normally a powdered metal oxide such as iron oxide or chromium oxide.
The magnetic stripe is read by moving it past a reading head which detects the magnetism of the stripe and converts the magnetic signal stored therein into an electric data signal. However, magnetic stripe cards are of limited use as only a small amount of data can be stored on them. For example, a bank customer's account details and some additional information, such as an encrypted PIN number, can be stored on a magnetic stripe card, but if additional information is required to be stored then a smart card with an embedded microprocessor will be required.
Smart cards are of similar dimensions to magnetic stripe cards. However, because they contain an integrated circuit chip they can store considerably more data than a magnetic stripe card, and can be adapted to provide a number of functions in addition to merely storing data.
Smart cards are sub-divided into two groups: a) contact smart cards, in use of which retractable metallic terminals within a reader/writer are moved to physically engage a terminal or contact area on the card, in order to transmit data to and receive data from the card; and 2) contactless smart cards, in use of which data is transmitted to and received from the smart card without physically contacting the card. Contactless smart cards are read by capacitive or inductive terminals. Each of the contact or contactless smart card terminals incorporate up to eight terminal points including a power terminal point, a reset terminal point, a data transmission terminal point and a data receipt terminal point. A voltage is applied to the power terminal point by a reader/writer so as to activate the integrated circuit chip within the smart card. The reset terminal point is utilised by a reader/writer in determining which type of card is present in the read/writer and which communication protocol is utilised by the card, as will be described further in connection with a specific embodiment of the present invention. The transmission terminal point and receipt terminal point respectively are used by the card to transmit data to and receive data from the reader/writer, when in use.
The contactless smart card capacitive terminals on the card and the corresponding contactless smart card capacitive terminals in the reader/writer each perform as a plate of a capacitor. Therefore, once the chip in the smart card has been activated it may transmit data to the card reader/writer by virtue of the capacitive coupling between the smart card and the reader/writer. The inductive terminals of the card and reader/writer operate in an analogous fashion in which each terminal operates as a coupled induction coil so that data may be transmitted by virtue of the inductive coupling between the smart card and the reader/writer.
There are a variety of different magnetic stripe, contact smart card and contactless smart card formats. The most important of these formats are the ISO standard formats which are ISO 7810-13 for magnetic stripe cards, ISO 7816 for contact smart cards and ISO 10536 for contactless smart cards. These standards determine the locations of magnetic stripes and terminals on the cards and the communication protocols utilised by each type of card.
In view of the various cards available for obtaining access to transaction terminals or other facilities, many known card readers have been severely restricted in respect of the types of cards that can be read by the readers. In order to enhance the versatility of access control equipment, manufacturers have provided separate card readers with separate entry slots for magnetic stripe and smart cards. Such an arrangement has the disadvantage that a relatively large amount of space is required for the card readers. There are also card readers available that read magnetic stripe cards and contact smart cards and utilize a single entry slot. However, these readers are also relatively large and support only a single smart card type and do not support the range of available smart card types which comply with the smart card ISO standards.